Improvement in magazine fire-arms



rTEn STATES PATENT Orrrcn,

EDVIN A. PRESOOTT, OF HATFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PRESOOTT PISTOL COMPANY, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAGAZINE FIRE-ARMS.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent N0. 159,609, dated February 9, 1875; application filed March 28, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. PREscoTT, of Hatfield, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Magazine Fire-Arm, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to fire-arms having a supplementary barrel or chamber for containing cartridges; also, apparatus for automatically supplying the cartridges to the firingbarrel and throwing out the exploded cartridges.

Ihe invention consists of certain peculiar devices and arrangements thereof for throwing out the case of the exploded cartridge, feeding the cartridge to be fired into the barrel, and retaining the cartridges in the supplementary barrel or magazine while the discharging-barrel is being loaded.

The object is to accomplish the work necessary in this class of fire-arms with certainty and precision, and by simpler and cheaper devices than heretofore used.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of my improved tire-arm. Fig. 2 is a side view, showing the parts in the process of transferring a cartridge from the magazine to the barrel. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the breech, and Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 2 on line .z x.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the breech or stock; B, the barrel; G, the magazine or supplementary barrel for containing the cartridges and presenting them to the transferring apparatus. D is the pivot, whereon the barrel is connected to the breech to swing down, as indicated in Fig. 2, for discharging the exploded shell and transferring a cartridge to the barrel, which are accomplshed by the shell being forced up with its Bange in the grooves E by the slide H to the position represented by dotted lines J, Fig. 2, at the same time forcing the exploded shell out of the grooves over the top, the slide H being worked by an arm, I, on the barrel, with which it is connected.

The principle of the invention, as thus far described, is not new, and I do not claim it,

but will now describe what I consider to be of my invention:

First, I `use two springs, K, in the magazine for holding the cartridges from falling out when the barrel is turned down, instead of one spring and a notch in the barrel, as heretofore used, by which I have this advantage, viz., that the cartridge is not resisted in its downward movement in the magazine, as it is in the old way, by the inclined wall of the notch, out of which it must rise before it can slide down, which is very considerable when multiplied by the whole number of cartridges in 'the magazine. By using two springs-that is, one on each of the opposite sides of the cartridge-it is not necessary to have the combined pressure of both more than that needed for one when used with the notch, so that the friction of the two springs in myarrangement will be no greater than that of the one in the other plan, and all the friction of the notch will be avoided. The springs move back so that, practically, the iiange of the cartridge acts upon them in a straight line, while in the notch it has to move up an incline, which, with an equal amount of pressure, offers greater resistance than the springs. Thus, it will be seen that the advantage of the two springs, as compared with a spring and a notch, is considerable.

Second, I combine a spring-catch, L, with the stock and the groove into which the head of the cartridge is received from the magazine to catch the flange and hold it against being thrown or knocked out before the iiange rises up, so as to be caught in the grooves E, which sometimes happens inthe old arrangement, as the barrel and magazine must of necessity swing forward and release the cartridge to some extent before the slide can move the cartridge up far enough to be caught in the grooves E.

Third, I connect the slide H with the arm I by a connecting-rod, M, for working it by said arm instead of a toothed segment on the arm, and a toothed bar on the slide, which is a simpler and cheaper arrangement, and it works more accurately and without the slack due to the play or lost motion77 of the teeth of the cog gear. Moreover, the cog arrangement necessitates a considerable open space at the lower side of the joint of the stock with the barrel, while, by this plan, a close joint is maintained.

Fourth, I make a little cam or point, N, on the end ofthe rod O, connected to slide H, to be thrown up above the top of the slide, as indicated in Fig. 2, to raise the cartridge above the top of the slide while being moved up to its position behind the barrel. This eXtra lift of the cartridge above the slide has heretofore been effected by the bar having a slotted hole for its connecting-pivot, so as to rise on the pivot by the upward push of the barrel when swung upward to connect with the stock. By the use of the cam or point I am enabled to accomplish the same movement of the cartridge, and at the same time avoid the loose joint, which is objectionable for its rattling noise and uncertain action. With regard to the cam on the rod connecting with the slide, it is highly important to limit the rise of the slide as much as possible, because the rise depends on the size of the joint of the breech with the barrel, which must be as small as possible to make an acceptable pistol. By using the cam the joint is lessened in size by as much as the cam lifts the cartridge. It is the arm at the joint connecting` with the slide that makes the rise of the slide dependent on the size of the joint.

Fifth, I arrange the spring-catch P for fastening the barrel and the breech together to swing vertically on a horizontal pivot, Q, and provide it with a thumb-bit, R, directly in advance over the top of the barrel, so that the thumb of the hand in which the arm is held may be used for unlocking the barrel to swing it down for loading, by merely pushing down on the thumb-bit, and also so that the pressure exerted for unlocking them also tends to force the barrel down. Heretofore two springcatches have been used in this connection, being on vertical pivots, and having shanks extending forward to be pressed toward each other for unlocking, which required the use of the other hand, thus making the operation slower.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of the catch-springL with the groove in the stock for the head of the cartridge, to hold it until raised into the grooves E, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of arm I, connectingrod M, and slide H, as described, whereby the slide is moved accurately, made cheaply, and worked without play or lost motion.

3. The rod O, jointed to the slide H, as described, and provided with the cam or point N, substantially as specied.

EDWIN A. PRESUOTT. Witnesses:

S. D. PORTER, SARAH S. PORTER. 

